Riding the Rails Despite popular belief LA does have a (fairly minimal) subway/light rail system, and a few weeks ago we discovered we live all of three block from a stop (at the Hollywood and Highland mall.) Then, to celebrate (or something) the end of the 5 week long Metro Transit Association mechanic's strike and the return of Metro bus and rail service the MTA made that trains free though Saturday night. We took this to be a sign and decided to explore the system a little bit more this weekend. Saturday night A couple of friends came over and we decided we would take the train into Union Station downtown to visit that bad-ass bar in Chinatown.

The Red Line runs from Union Station west through Hollywood and then turns north into the Valley. The trip took us about 25 minutes, which is about how long it would take to drive to downtown not counting parking/getting lost time. It seemed really weird to be taking the train the land where car is KING, but also made LA feel more like a big city and less like a geographic salad of small communities. It is also nice to have a night out on the town and not have to deal with designated drivers or cab fair!

So after we got our bearings outside of Union Station, we walked 2 blocks to the world famous Philippe's and has some dipped beef (and turkey) sandwiches. Philippe's invented the "french dip" sandwich WAY back in 1918 and they are, hands down, THE BEST (and I've eaten A LOT of french dip sandwiches in my day.) Saturday night I also discovered their chili kicks ass too! From the restaurant is was another 4 blocks into Chinatown and to the bar, which was considerably more crowded than the last time. We grabbed a secluded table and had a few rounds before venturing back into Hollywood on the train. Julie kept remarking that it felt like we were on vacation. Perhaps it was the foreign feeling of being on a subway in LA, or perhaps it was just this was the first outing she has had in a few weeks since she has been working so damn hard. And I, for one, thinks she deserves some kind of reward!